Parents and students rally for the passing of California Proposition 38

Over 100 Santa Monica citizens gathered at a Samo Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) sponsored event on Oct. 24 in support of Proposition 38.According to Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) PTSA President Patti Braun, Proposition 38 would have helped to bring in more teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians to the school system, making class sizes smaller and supporting art and technology programs. SMMUSD Board of Education President Ben Allen said that the funds received from Proposition 38 would go directly to California schools.“We’ve already made enormous cuts and will be forced to make some awful decisions if the proposition doesn’t pass,” Allen said prior to election day. “Our kids deserve better.”Juniors Suzanne Pye and Sydney Golden spoke at the rally in support of the proposition and in support of other educational propositions. “It was a fantastic environment,” Golden said. “Suzanne and I went back and forth, like a public conversation, explaining our upbringing in SMMUSD and facts about the proposition that would help keep the schools great.”Golden said that participating in the rally gave her an idea of what it is like to be a politician, having been put under pressure to answer questions and explain ideas to an audience.“I believe that I gained new political perspectives from participating in the rally,” Golden said. “I had pride in my words and was happy that everyone there was supporting me while I was supporting an idea I hoped would pass.”Goldon said that being put under pressure to answer questions about Proposition 38 made her more interested in the issues she represented. Braun said that having to convince an audience also made her become more knowledgable about the proposition.According to Braun, the educational measures in the election needed to pass, as California is ranked 37th in the nation for per student spending, and has the largest class sizes in the nation.“We’ve been very dependent on our cities, on parent fundraising, parcel taxes and usage taxes,” Braun said. “It is time to transform education funding in California. Proposition 38 [would have] guaranteed a brand new revenue stream that supplies $10 billion a year in new funding for our schools and Sacramento is prohibited from touching the money.”Pye, who is actively involved in youth and government already, said that she strongly believes that Proposition 38 needed to have passed. Her speech was centered around the idea that our schools need the funding that would come from this proposition, especially for restoration of class sizes and funding for teaching materials.“The rally went really well,” Pye said. “All the speakers there were very passionate about the issue and we all wanted it to pass because it will help our schools immensely. I think my speech went well because the proposition was all about giving money to our schools, and who better to hear from than high school students.”cgoldberg@thesamohi.com